The present invention relates to a display system for a vehicle and particularly to one which provides a display of selected names of points of interest arranged by category and elemental directions to a selected point of interest. One embodiment provides a graphic display of cross-streets or addresses as the vehicle travels along a local roadway.
There exist numerous vehicle navigation systems which provide graphic map displays, which allow the vehicle operator, through significant manipulation of controls, to plan a travel route and obtain information about arrival destinations, typically by address. Some systems provide navigation control through the use of voice recognition programs and control circuits. All of these systems are relatively expensive, complicated and difficult for a vehicle operator to utilize, particularly when preoccupied with surrounding traffic in congested areas. Some suggested simplified navigation systems allow the vehicle operator to either identify his or her current location by street address and forthcoming intersection information, as well as basic points of interest information. Such systems are relatively inexpensive but do not provide the operator with the flexibility of providing points-of-interest information in a user-friendly format nor additional desirable features, such as easily accessible alternate displays of forthcoming highway exits, street intersections, or street addresses when traveling on a local street.
Thus, there remains a need for a display system for a vehicle which is relatively inexpensive and is user-friendly to operate using a minimum number of intuitive controls. Such a system needs to provide desirable features, such as points of interest in selected categories which can be easily accessed with minimal operator intervention and yet provide the operator with sufficient information to be able to locate and travel to such points-of-interest.